Roma: La Dolce Vita & La Citta' Eterna

ROME (Roma) is frequently called “the eternal city.”  I don’t know about that, but certainly it has stood at the crossroads of history for more than 2000 years, as the capital of the Kingdom, the Republic, and then the Empire.  That all came tumbling down in 476, but the tradition carried on through the Middle Ages with Rome as the seat of the Catholic Church, and popes as the heads of state instead of emperors.  In the 19^th century, secular Rome became the capital of the new united Italian republic.  The sights are too many to mention. Unlike most cities where landmarks are generally divided between churches and museums, here we have the added categories of castles and fountains, plazas and steps.  Everything either dates before 400 or after 1400.  For a thousand years or more, almost nothing was built and Rome’s population dropped from as much as a million to as little as 20,000. 

     The Colosseum is the main reminder of the Classic Age, but aside from that and the Pantheon and the Roman Forum, the Renaissance era comprises most of what you see, including the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, St. Peter’s Basilica, and much much more, such as the Sant’Angelo Bridge and Castel Sant’Angelo, the Church of San Girolamo degli Schiavoni, the Palazzo Farnese, The Lateran Palace, the Tempietto, etc.  Even so, it’s not so huge, and very walkable.  Summer can get crowded.  In fact Rome gets so many tourists that it’s hard to be a hostel purist. Standards here aren’t as high as northern Europe.  Persevere, and book far in advance.   

There are twenty hostels selected for inclusion in the book, complete with details, specs, and contact info.  Not all of them make it in.